A federal judge strongly denounced Apple to find that the iPhone maker intentionally violated the court order in the antitrust case.Fortnite“Maker’s epic game.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to lower barriers to protect its previous in-app digital transactions and allow developers to display links with alternative options. She wrote that on Wednesday, she found Apple violated a 2021 ban that attempted to “restrict and ban anti-competitive behavior from iPhone manufacturers” and price.

"Apple continues to try to intervene in competition will not be tolerated," Gonzalez Rogers wrote in a ruling on Wednesday.

She ordered Apple "no longer hinders developers' ability to communicate with users, nor does it charge or impose new commissions on the new committee."

"We strongly disagree with this decision. We will comply with the court's order and we will appeal," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement provided to CBS News on Wednesday night.

Epic first filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2020, claiming that Apple has established an illegal monopoly around its popular App Store, which makes billions of dollars a year from the then-proprietary payment system, which collects commissions ranging from 15% to 30%.

Although Gonzalez Rogers rejected the monopoly claim, she ordered the barriers to be lowered to protect its previous exclusive payment system for in-app digital transactions and to allow developers to display links to alternative options. The Supreme Court dismissed Apple's appeal in the case in January 2024.

"In stark contrast to Apple's initial on-field testimony, while business documents show that Apple knows exactly what it is doing and that every moment has chosen the most anti-competitive option," the judge wrote on Wednesday, accusing Apple's vice president, Alex Roman, of taking the oath.

“Internally, (long-term Apple director) Phillip Schiller advocated Apple to comply with the ban, but (CEO) Tim Cook ignored Schiller and allowed Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri and his finance team to otherwise convince him. Cook chose poorly.”

The judge referred the matter to the U.S. attorney in the North District of California to investigate whether the criminal consent litigation is appropriate.

The Ministry of Justice proposed Comprehensive antitrust litigation Last year, opposing Apple, accusing the tech giant of engaging in a series of efforts to kill competition.